Description
About blooming tectorum wide leaf
This is the blooming tectorum wide leaf listing: the rare locality form from our Tillandsia tectorum Wide Leaf Form base listing, shipped while the plants are in spike. Stock is very limited and appears only when a crop flowers.
The Wide Leaf form is a tectorum with much broader leaves than the type, in a full silver globe, and it is not available anywhere else that we know of. In bloom a spike rises from the globe with pink bracts and violet flowers.
Because the leaves are broad and the coat is thick, the pink spike sits on a pale, dense cushion, and the contrast is stronger than on a thin-leaved tectorum.
We grade blooming plants as smalls, mediums and larges as available. Every plant is a slow-grown, mature globe.
At $50 in bloom this is a collector’s plant, and it should be sold as one: a rare form, in flower, that will not be back in stock until the next crop blooms. It offsets after flowering, slowly.
Growing blooming tectorum wide leaf: Care Guide
Treat it as the driest plant you own. Mist lightly every few days, keep the spike and the centre of the globe dry, and give it very bright light and constant airflow; the broad leaves and dense coat hold moisture longer than a thin-leaved tectorum, so it is easier to overwater. Never soak it while in flower. After bloom, a short dip every two or three weeks in dry weather is enough, and in humid conditions mist only. Cool nights help set the next spike. A globe this size sits well in a bowl or on a stand with nothing under it to hold water.
- Light: Very bright light with direct sun.
- Water: Mist every few days. Dip 10 minutes every 2 to 3 weeks after bloom.
- Drying: Shake gently and set upright in moving air.
- Airflow: Strong airflow always.
- Temperature: 35°F to 95°F. Cool nights are welcome.
- Feeding: Feed lightly with diluted TillyBoost Fertilizer at quarter strength, no more than monthly.
- Mounting: No mount needed. Set it in a dry bowl or on a stand.
- Pups: Slow. One or two after bloom.
See the base listing for year-round stock, browse more Currently in Bloom, or read our air plant care guide.
